Redstate

Posted at 6:00pm on Jan. 16, 2008 There Must Be Only One

Who Needs a Frontrunner, Anyway? - Or - Ugh, Pundits!

By Mark I

Last night’s results in the Michigan primary further muddle the already muddled Republican nomination race. There have been three different winners in the first four contests, and by the end of the month, there may well have been four out of January’s seven. Still the media and punditocracy charge headlong into the scrum, seeking desperately to crown someone--anyone--with the supposedly all-important status of frontrunner.

Last night, it was Gov. Mitt Romney’s turn. Fox News’ election night coverage saw fit to crown him the frontrunner on the strength of his impressive victory in Michigan. But Mitt Romney is not a frontrunner. He carries no momentum into South Carolina on Saturday. Indeed, Romney trails the candidate whose frontrunner status he allegedly usurped by winning Michigan, Sen. John McCain; and trails the candidate whose frontrunnership was taken by McCain in New Hampshire, Gov. Mike Huckabee. Truth be told, neither McCain nor Huckabee were frontrunners either when they were so knighted by the media kingmakers.

So, why the rush? Why is the media so intent on declaring this guy or that as the frontrunner so early in what is shaping up to be a long primary process? And what’s so great about having a frontrunner, anyway?

Read on…

Posted in 2008 | Democrats | frontrunners | Media | Presidential Primary | Republicans — Comments (21)/ Email this page » / Read More »